A Gardeners Forum Forums Gardening Reference Gardening in 2005 weeds

Does anyone know what a purple weed is that seems to have popped up all over my yard? I hired a guy last year to verticut and seed last fall. I thought he knew I meant grass :rolleyes: Now that it's here, what do I do to get rid of it? Does anyone know of a natural, earth friendly solution?

Thanks, auntnene

Hi Auntnene,
You wouldn't happen to have a picture would you??
We have a Mystery Section, if you'd like to put it in there...

Weezie

You do need a Webshots or something to put them on and link them back to here.....

WebShots
PhotoBucket
Imagestation

My neighbor says it's Purple Deadnettle and should be sprayed after it goes to seed There is a creek across the road from us so I was leary about spraying it with chemical. I didn't want to contribute to contamination. I'm not alone. It looks as though the whole town is "in bloom" this year. Is there a way to kill the stuff without resorting to calling the experts?

Thanks, auntnene

Auntnene,
Purple Deadnettle


And some more
Purple Deadnettle

I have this stuff.... I can't say I've actually tried to get rid of it...
Right now, this time of year, with the soil being so moist is a good time to pull it out by hand, should come out very easily..
(I'm organic and I'm an old fashion puller outter!
No chemicals) but I do know, when the soil is so moist, MOST weeds are VERY EASY TO PULL OUT!!!
The problem sometimes is that they are on runners and even though what looks like a good amount of root system that you get, still may be under ground and still viable...

How much is there????
A small patches or totally entwined with your lawn???

I know there's a chemical applier here, The plant Doc... maybe he'll slide thru for you!!!!

I was just re~reading your posts,
you had the guy VERTICUT your lawn...
I had to look it up what that comprised of.....

Sometimes, when you do anything to the soil,
using the machine he did to verticut the lawn or
a rototiller it, the process opens up the dirt
and exposes weed seeds that have laid dormant over a period of time and years. Some seeds can lay dormant and viable for many, many years.
Once the soil is exposed and/or opened up,
it gives lite to those seeds and they pop out of the ground...
That's why those pesky little buggers live for ever, they have so many defense mechanisms to be able to survive....

Weezie

Yup! That's the stuff! Thanks for the pics. Pulling it out in the garden areas is not gonna be a problem but the yard is going to be a huge project. It popped up all over.... thanks to your explanation of verticutting, I know why I was expecting my yard to turn a beautiful shade of green after all the $$ I spent on seeding. Live and learn, I guess.

Thanks for your help.

Hang on now, don't blame the person that seeded your yard so fast. weeds are and will always be a problem and will need to be handled as they pop up, or apply a pre-emeregent to stop the germation. You talk about chemicals as thou they are bad. If applied right they can be a help. Here is a website that has a lot of info on weeds all over the US www.weedalert.com they even have recommendations on how to get rid of the weeds.

I've never had any problems with purple deadnettle, but I think that must be what I saw blooming in yards when I went to Virginia Beach this past weekend. There were huge patches of purple blooms.

I've been overseeding my yard twice a year for the past several years in an effort to thicken up my yard and crowd out the weeds. It seems to be working. I now have the thickest grass I've ever had. Each spring, I overseed and then verticut which buries a lot of the seed in the slits the verticutter makes. You can see the grass seedlings coming up in rows. In the fall, I dethatch, then overseed and verticut again.

Also, how high do you have your mower set? You should set your mower as high as it will go. Your grass will then be better able to outcompete the weeds as the weeds don't do as well under shadier conditions.

Terry,
That's a gooooooooood idea!!!!

Weezie

(((Terry)))
I love the idea of seeding twice a year! With the rains we'll be getting this spring, now is probably the perfect time to do it again. I'll talk to the mower in the family I'm sure the mower is set too low. I'm excited now!!


Thanks!

Hi

The best way to chemically control dead nettle (big problem up here in WI) is to spray it with a 2,4,d. type spray (weed-Be-Gone) just to name one.


Follow the directions on the lable to the T!
As far as when it is bets to spray this weed, the idea of waiting until after it goes to seed, is because that is when the plant is at its weakest state. But then again you will have to contend with all the new seeds. I would go ahead and start spraying it as soon as it is actively growing, with follow up treatments as recomended on the product lable.
Since it is a vine, you will have to get the entire plant to get a good kill. The spray works by entering the surface area of the leaf and this takes a few days depending on weather for this to happen. So I would spray about 2 days after mowing, and not mow again for 3 days following. This will give the spray a chance to work.
Also don't water your lawn for 24 hours after application.

Oh don't be too quick to blame the guy who verticut your lawn. The seeds were there prior, and the power raking probably just loosened the soil and allowed the seeds to sprout.


Hope this helps

Mike

Hi Mike!
Thanks for the information. No, I don't blame the guy who verticut my yard; I was just hoping to see some new grass this year and ended up with another year of a yard "in bloom" I'm babbling so I'll just say "thank you" again and hush!!

Weezie already told me before from my mystery photos that I have purple deadnettle. It's so purty tho! Ok, so I'm twisted. Last year, I left chicory & queen's lace grow around the yard.. really ticked off Steve..lol. I don't think I have the heart to wack down all the pretty purple flowers from the deadnettle & the blue from my ground ivy. Of course, some will have to go.. I just don't want it to compete with stuff I've planted. But grass, what grass? I must have the worst grass that money can't buy. :rolleyes: I have got to take photos in the light of day to show you just how yucky it is.

Meg

grass? i'd love some toe sinking grass, but we get our water from a well, and i'm not willing to do what it takes chemically to get that. so, it's sand, gravel, and/or mulch for most of my yard!

If you have a lot of moss coming in it could be a sign that your lawn is turning acidic. This is easily treated with an application of pelletized limestone. You will have to measure the square footage of your lawn then plan on putting the lime down at about 20-30 lbs per 1000 square feet.
Changing the pH to your soil is not like fertilizing, you will not see an immediate improvment as it will take 4 to 6 months for the change to actually happen.
This may also help control the weeds by providing a thicker lawn.

For The plant Doc: I know you are in WI, I'm here in "sunny" Dallas, but do you know about applying dry molasses and cornmeal to lawns? It's a strongly suggested method here if going organic, and I need to do something to our back yard. It's our second summer here, previous owner(s) did nothing except enjoy the pool, and what little grass is left (it's mostly weeds), needs help. Thanks.

Hi Karin,

Sorry, I have never heard of applying dry molasses or cornmeal to lawns. It must be a "southern" thing. What is it supposed to do?

Mike

Nope ,it's not a southern thing.It's an organic thing.

And it really does work.

Here's some info.

http://www.extension.umn.edu/projects/yardandgarden/ygbriefs/h531cornglutenmeal.html

I get mine at gardens alive,it's called wow plus.

http://www.gardensalive.com/category.asp?c=10

Okay That I have heard of, I just didn't make the connection. We don't use that commercially basically because it has very limited control, and does nothing to stop our worst enemy in the area (dandilions).

What does the dry molasses do? I would think it would attract ants and other insects like magnet.
Is that a problem with it?

Mike

Like this one?


No, I'm sorry, I don't have any...

uh oh,sorry.I was gonna vent and delete.

I gotcha!
You didn't know I was lurking, did you?